California Public Employees Retirement System

News about California Public Employees Retirement System, including commentary and archival articles published in The New York Times.

Chronology of Coverage

Jun. 26, 2015

Pension fraud investigator and former Securities and Exchange Commission lawyer Edward A H Siedle has begun Kickstarter campaign to raise funds to investigate California Public Employees' Retirement System; will seek to determine how much Calpers, which manages some $300 billion in retirement funds, pays in private equity performance fees; Calpers disclosed in April that such fees were not explicitly accounted for, and that it has no way of ascertaining them. MORE

Jun. 16, 2015

Editorial praises California Public Employees' Retirement System for its decision to save on fees paid to money managers by reducing its reliance on alternative investment firms; notes while most public pension systems could save money by taking similar action, they would still face problem of underfunding; calls on elected officials to make contributions necessary to ensure retirees and their survivors receive what they have been promised. MORE

Jun. 9, 2015

Ted Eliopoulos, chief investment officer of California Public Employees' Retirement System, says it is severing ties with half of its external investment managers in effort to simplify portfolio and avoid paying significant fees to hedge funds; other pensions funds struggling to meet promised benefits to government workers are also working to reduce fees. MORE

Mar. 25, 2015

Steven Davidoff Solomon Deal Professor column assesses consequences and complications that may result from decision by California Public Employees' Retirement Systems to embrace so-called corporate sustainability movement; notes corporate sustainability can be controversial due to way it conflicts with Calpers' need to secure returns to keep itself from being underfunded. MORE

Feb. 26, 2015

New Jersey Gov Chris Christie's proposed freeze to state's public pension plans is latest in series of events that have challenged long held belief that public pensions are untouchable; move seems in part inspired by California Judge Christopher Klein's opinion criticizing Calpers, California's public pension system, for ruling out pension cuts in city of Stockton's bankruptcy proceedings. MORE

Sep. 27, 2014

James B Stewart Common Sense column examines decision by Calpers, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, to terminate its $4.5 billion hedge fund portfolio, which startled investment world; notes that it is the biggest public pension to publicly turn its back on hedge funds. MORE

Sep. 23, 2014

A California state pension fund’s decision to drop hedge fund investments was based on its own situation, not on deficiencies in that asset class. MORE

Sep. 21, 2014

Gretchen Morgenson Fair Game column examines decision by California Public Employees' Retirement System to divest itself of its entire $4 billion portfolio of hedge funds over the next year; notes that decision could signal a wider disenchantment by pension funds that have turned to hedge funds despite complexity, high fees and risk. MORE

Sep. 16, 2014

Even though the $4 billion hedge fund investment being dropped by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System is minuscule by industry standards, Calpers has long been a trendsetter among public pension plans. MORE

Mar. 18, 2013

Federico R. Buenrostro and an associate are charged with defrauding Apollo Global Management. MORE